What will the 0.25% Interest Rate do to the Exeter Property Market?

I had an interesting chat with a St Leonards landlord who owns a few properties in the city. He popped his head in to my office as his wife was shopping in the area (and let’s be honest talking about the Exeter Property Market is a lot more interesting than clothes shopping!). We had never spoken before (because he uses another agent in the city to manage his Exeter properties) yet after reading my blog on the Exeter Property Market for a while, the landlord wanted to know my thoughts on how the recent interest rate cut would affect the Exeter property market and I would also like to share these thoughts with you……

Well it’s been a few weeks now since interest rates were cut to 0.25% by the Bank of England as the Bank believed Brexit could lead to a materially lower path of growth for the UK, especially for the manufacturing and construction industries. You see for the country as a whole, the manufacturing and construction industries are still performing well below the pre credit crunch levels of 2008/09, so the British economy remains highly susceptible to an economic shock. This is especially important in Exeter, because even though we have had a number of local success stories in manufacturing and construction, a large number of people are employed in these sectors. In Exeter, of the 55,149 people who have a job, 2,666 are in the manufacturing industry and 3,821 in Construction meaning

4.8% of Exeter workers are employed in the Manufacturing

sector and 6.9% of Exeter workers are in Construction

The other sector of the economy the Bank is worried about, and an equally important one to the Exeter economy, is the Financial Services industry. Financial Services in Exeter employ 1,382 people, making up 2.5% of the Exeter working population.

Together with a cut in interest rates, the Bank also announced an increase in the quantity of money via a new programme of Quantitative Easing to buy £70bn of Government and Private bonds. Now that won’t do much to the Exeter property market directly, but another measure also included in the recent announcement was £100bn of new funding to banks. This extra £100bn will help the High St banks pass on the base rate cut to people and businesses, meaning the banks will have lots of cheap money to lend for mortgages.. which will have a huge effect on the Exeter property market (as that £100bn would be enough to buy half a million homes in the UK).

It will take until early in the New Year to find out the real direction of the Exeter property market and the effects of Brexit on the economy as a whole, the subsequent recent interest rate cuts and the availability of cheap mortgages. However, something bigger than Brexit and interest rates is the inherent undersupply of housing (something I have spoken about many times in my blog and the specific effect on Exeter). The severe undersupply means that Exeter property prices are likely to increase further in the medium to long term, even if there is a dip in the short term. This only confirms what every homeowner and landlord has known for decades.. investing in property is a long term project and as an investment vehicle, it will continue to outstrip other forms of investment due to the high demand for a roof over people’s heads and the low supply of new properties being built.

For more thoughts on the Exeter Property Market, please visit the Exeter Property Market www.exeterproeprtyblog.com

Michael Fredriksson

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About The Author

Thank you for visiting this blog. Northwood Exeter are a leading estate agent and professional team of local, friendly experts who are passionate about property. We are proud of our reputation across Exeter and the surrounding areas earned through our knowledge of the property market.

I have always shared my thoughts on the local property market in Exeter with my landlords, but now I want to share with everyone in the town.

On this blog, Gail Barnes I will talk about what is happening in the town's property market itself, even looking at specific streets or housing estates. At other times, we will post what we consider decent buy to let deals. Some will be on the market with me as we also sell property, but others will be on the market with other agents in Exeter. We like to look at the whole of market and give you, what we consider the best investment opportunities.

If you see a potential deal, and want a second opinion, without hesitation, email the Rightmove link to exeter@northwooduk.com , we will always give you our honest opinion on the property and its investment potential. (both good and bad) .

About The Blog

This blog follows the buy-to-let and sale market in Exeter. You'll find tips, guidance, and analysis that relates specifically to Exeter and you'll also find properties from all the estate agents in the town on here that may make decent investments. I operate Northwood Exeter with Gail Barnes and if you're thinking of buying a property to let in Exeter or just want an up to date Market Appraisal of your home, please do not hesitate to call me on 01392 435 130 or e-mail on exeter@northwooduk.com